19/12/2014

Don't call it Money



Back once Reddit -- bastion of the internet's weirdest conversations -- raised another $50 million in venture funding, the investors concerned in agreement to present a combined ten p.c of their shares back to the site's users. for nearly 3 months, none folks knew specifically however that may happen, however currently Reddit's talking specifics... sort of. Next year, the corporate can distribute via lottery some 950,000 Reddit Notes, a kinda-sorta digital currency that'll let users "tip, donate, or trade" with peers United Nations agency additionally bacon in the dark.
The key words therein previous sentence ar "kinda-sorta." In interview with INC., Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian appearance at Reddit Notes as one thing comparable to, however approximately, a currency. Instead, he considers them additional of a digital plus -- they have some kind of intrinsic price "like sugar or gold or bacon" and might be wont to fuel transactions between individuals, however they do not have any actual money price. that is right: Despite the very fact to a small degree back-of-the-napkin mathematics would price every Note at roughly $5.25 ($5 million in shares divided by the tentative variety of Notes outstanding), the Notes do not equate to benefit your pocket. they don't seem to be a symptom that you just own a teeny, little fragment of the corporate, either. They just... are.
Painfully vague? fortunately, Reddit cryptocurrency engineer Ryan Charles chimed in to mention that there is a legal set up in action which "the cryptocurrency are exchangeable for one thing important ." that also does not make a case for an excessive amount of, however it's all designedly. We're still a couple of seasons far from seeing the primary Reddit Notes trickle into the wild, and up till then Reddit's team can possible be grappling with the money and regulative ramifications that go together with distributing digital assets to redditors across the globe.
The idea that Reddit may become a home for these weird very little transactions might sound to a small degree off-kilter, however the shift has already started. Did you post a gut-wrenchingly funny comment? Or were you instrumental in serving to a alien hunt down a long-lost family member? there is a tight probability that somebody talented you a month or Reddit Gold, or tipped you a small fraction of a bitcoin as thanks. love it or not, Reddit is not just an area to shoot the breeze any longer. It's turning into a peculiar, little economy and Reddit Notes can solely add fuel to it hearth.

Sources: Reddit Blog